Blacklight Codex
by MikeX713
Summary: A collection of files and reports. All centered around the Blacklight Virus from the world of Viral Saints and its Spinoffs
1. Codex

Blacklight Codex

Blacklight Proper - File 000 - DX-1118 C

Subject - Pathology of Blacklight

Primary Author: Alex Mercer

Blacklight is the culmination of a decade of painstaking research and testing, a retrovirus more virulent and unpredictable than any before it. Like other retroviruses, it contains RNA and the reverse transcriptase enzyme which allows it to insert its own genetic code into the host's cells, but it is unique in both the speed of infection and what happens after the cells are infected. Core sequences in the Blacklight genome serve as a genetic skeleton key, activating and replicating previously dormant non-coding segments of the host's DNA, the so-called "junk DNA" not used for creating proteins. This genetic shuffling and activation is where the virus derives its lethality.

The virus was developed at Gentek, and under orders from Gentek CEO Raymond McMullen, the rate of replication, infection, and transmission was increased, raising the lethality by a factor of 10 from the original samples. Blacklight cells are able to penetrate and take over any form of a host cell, even immune cells and those meant to act as a barrier like skin cells. DX-1118 C can infect organisms through physical contact via bites and scratches, exposure to aerosolized viral particles in open air, bodily fluids and materials, and direct application through injection. Infection occurs along every possible route, including the bloodstream, lymphatic and respiratory systems, even nerve pathways. Infected organisms undergo rapid organ failure as the cells in their body change form and function in a matter of minutes.

Director McMullen also ordered several functions of the virus deactivated. Original Redlight samples possessed an unprecedented potential for genetic memory and retention, the virus collecting portions of the host DNA even as it twisted and corrupted it. During testing, researchers noted the, for lack of a better word, the intelligence of certain samples. Experimental tests showed that cells infected with a single strain of Redlight never activated the same set of dormant genes, a statistical impossibility. Despite the potential for genetic rewriting, these abilities were made dormant and their genes were separated, which made it highly unlikely for a random mutation to switch them back on in any working condition.

Alex Mercer, the original Alex Mercer, had that magic X-factor, that blend of genetic quirks that allowed the sample he released to unlock its full potential. That new strain, my strain, operates on a different level entirely.

Not only can it absorb genetic information and biological structures, it remembers them, remembers everything. Not only can it shuffle and activate genes, it can rewrite them. Not only can individual infected cells communicate, they can coordinate, shift and mold themselves into any shape while their hosts share thoughts and feelings as part of a Hive Mind.

* * *

Subject - History of Blacklight

Audio Recording of General Peter Randall.

Blacklight, God I wish I'd never heard of that damn virus. If only those eggheads had fiddled with their beakers and microscopes a little less while the real patriots fought and died for their sorry asses, maybe it all could have ended with a smoking crater where Hope, Idaho used to be.

Hope, that's the first page of Blacklight's blood-soaked history book. It was a huge scientific study, a cross-section of America to test the next generation of biological warfare as part of the CARNIVAL program. The residents of Hope were perfect sacrificial lambs, literally rolling up their sleeves to be injected with what they thought was a harmless simulation of radioactive fallout. The virus lay dormant for almost three years, then that's when it all went to shit. After Redlight found a perfect host in a girl named Elizabeth Greene, her new strain turned the town into a gigantic Hive. An invasion was mounted to stop the source of the outbreak, and Greene was found to be pregnant. The mother and child were taken as military assets, and Hope was wiped off the face of the Earth as part of Operation Altruistic. For forty years, Greene lay in a dormant state, the perfect guinea pig. The discoveries found in her blood spawned dozens of research projects, among them Project Blacklight headed by Alex Mercer.

Mercer, the terrorist of New York.

He was a liability, just another leak that needed plugging so Jane and Joe public could stay sleeping soundly. He started as one of the eggheads working on the virus, did his job, kept his head down. Until one day he dug a little too deep, asked a few too many questions his lily-livered self-didn't like the answers to. Bastard couldn't even die with dignity, he had to bring Blackwatch into the open and put our great work at risk.

His release of the virus inside Penn Station and subsequent actions post-resurrection as a walking WMD devastated our organization and cost millions of American lives. His misguided crusade released Greene on the island of Manhattan, opening a festering wound on the face of the Earth, a wound that had to be cauterized with nuclear fire. To put it simply, we failed. We failed, and now Blacklight's contagion is free to spread unopposed across this great nation and beyond. San Francisco, Japan, Miami, Los Santos, they will fall.

I did my duty to my country and to the defense of the Red Line. God bless America, GOD BLESS AM- End of recording by order of Alalpha Alex Mercer.

Attached Notes.

And… back in the bottle, you go, General. I apologize. Even echoes, _ghosts_ of echoes, can be plenty loud, and I'm a regular walking Haunted Mansion.

You see the kind of people that were involved in Blacklight's genesis. You've got a front row seat into their innermost desires, their morals.

General Peter Randall, Raymond McMullen, Doctor Alex J. Mercer, they were all evil men, and every day I strive to be better than the guy whose face I'm wearing. It should be clear that Blacklight is not to be used lightly. It is not a toy, a tool of revenge, or a miracle, it's a plague designed to destroy, and any good it does has a long way to go to cancel out the bad it's already done. Nobody knows that better than me.


	2. File 001 - Evolved

Blacklight Proper – File 001 – Evolved

Subject – Overview of the Beings classified as Evolved

Overview Summery – The Evolved of Blacklight are former Humans that have been wholly infected with the Blacklight virus to the degree that every cell that composes their body contains Blacklight.

Powers – Evolved have many abilities to them. Most if not all come from their ability to change their body to suit their needs. They are limited to what Strains of Blacklight they have within their bodies. There are Strains that can be found in any Evolved, these are what make up the Evolved Strain itself. Any others are Strains that have been Consumed by the individual Evolved. The shared powers that all Evolved have are as follows.

Shapeshifting – Once an Evolved Consumes a Human they are able to assume their face and body. Evolved also have limited control over their primary form in permeance.

Bio-Weapon Transformation – Evolved are capable of turning their own bodies. They are able to turn their human arms into Claws, Swords, Hammers, and Shields. Evolved can as well increase their strength to herculin levels. Higher level Evolved also have great control over Blacklight Tendrils to the point of using them as a mid-range weapon. It is also advisable to avoid getting to close to the body of an Evolved during combat as they are able to project large blades from their bodies.

Superhuman Strength – Evolved possess an incredible strength that allows them to lift at a record of three tons of weight. They are far stronger than any normal human, able to kill a regular human with a single, glancing blow. Evolved have been recorded punching their way through reinforced doors with two inches of steel.

Superhuman Speed – Evolved have been known to out run any animal in the natural world. And put many racing level cars to shame with their enhanced speeds.

Superhuman Agility – Natural reflexes allow Evolved to move through urban areas with little trouble. Parkour and free running are ingrained into an Evolved's natural instincts just as many monkeys and apes know how to live in the trees.

Superhuman Endurance: An Evolved's endurance far exceeds that of a human's by leaps and bounds. Their bodies no longer possess weak bones or permanent vital organs, rendering them immune to otherwise debilitating injury as anything lost will quickly regrow back. This biological change allows them to survive falls from any height completely unharmed. Bullets of any caliber will pass through their bodies, causing very little damage that heals instantly. Withstanding direct hits from rockets, Hellfire missiles and tank shells, which cause only moderate damage will not stop an Evolved. If an Evolved is injured to the point of large pieces of their body is missing, including their head or other normally vial areas, the Evolved's body will go into a state of suspended amination while the parts regrow perfectly as they had been. It has been found that the only means to actually cause lasting harm is through highly corrosive acid.

Superhuman Senses: Evolved's vision and hearing are also enhanced, allowing them to see beyond the visible spectrum and hear across great distances even with physical insulation. All Evolved have thermal vision which allows them to locate heat signatures and infected vision which can detect large concentrations of Blacklight. All Evolved, and most Viral beings, have the ability to also sense the Hive Mind. It has been described as having a second set of eyes in an expansive void where lights, varying in size, represent the various beings within the collective Hive Mind.

Memory Absorption – After Consuming a human, an Evolved is able to scan through various memories of the Consumed individual. This does have limits, the human must be alive and not all memories can be retrieved.

Roles and Ranks – Evolved serve the duty of leaders and overseers in the Blacklight Hives. Evolved from the higher caste of the Hives, with Evolved Nobles at the lowest rung of the ladder of command. Ranks above the Noble is Gamma, Beta, Alpha, and Supreme Alpha

Evolved Nobles make up the staff of the masses of Infected [See File 002 Under Blacklight Proper], Taking the roles of managers and overseers of menial labor of the Infected. Noble Evolved Strains contain fifty percent Pure Blacklight DNA and Fifty percent junk DNA.

Gammas are meant to be in average number and perform tasks that are needed to be done that are of importance to the specific Hive that they are a part of. Gamma Strains contain a sixty-forty ratio of Pure to Junk DNA.

Betas act as second in command to the Alpha, they answer right to them and relay their orders to the rest of the Hive, acting as enforcers as well. Betas also have the job to watch the Alpha for signs of weakness and if their instincts demand it challenge the Alpha for dominance over the Hive. Beta on average have eighty twenty ratio Pure/Junk DNA

Alphas are the rulers and leaders of every single Hive. They rule without question so long as they prove and maintained their power over the rest of the Evolved. Alphas make every choice in terms of the direction a Hive is going to go, unless given a certain task by the Supreme Alpha. And it is the power of an Alpha alone to decide who becomes an Evolved in their Hive. An Alpha's Strain at max will be ninety-five to five and at minimum ninety to ten percent Pure to Junk DNA.

* * *

Attached files

File 001.03 – Mating and Claiming

Author, Alalpha of the Hive Minds, Alex Mercer

The first one was Luz, lover of some piece of shit gangster called Anglo Lopez. I Infected her with a predecessor to what become the Serf Class Infected Strain. I Infected her simply to get under her boyfriend's skin so he would screw up and we could take him down. Plus… she was hot and I wanted what I wanted. Later once the Strain had started moving a bit too far into her brain, I had to Claim her in the Hive Mind. After that she was Mine, and no one else could touch her. That's not all it could mean to claim someone, I later then Claimed the first Gamma, Carlos, he became my little bro and helper. Claiming could mean a great many things for anyone, all it comes down to is that an Evolved of higher rank as said to everyone else that this person is now under my protection and answers to me. Mating… that's a whole other thing. That's when two people, Evolved or Infected doesn't matter, love each other… or just fuck hard enough… and connect to each other in the Hive Mind. After that, they will only ever see each other as possible interests, cheating… never going to happen. Sex getting old and stale… nope… even after all these many many years I'm told its still as great as the day they Mated. Mating also has the effect of possible spawning of Naturals… but I'm not going to get on that topic in this report, not my place to speak of such things as I have a clear bias towards the little cocky shits.

* * *

File 001.12 – Instincts

Author – Beta to the Alalpha, Johnny Gat

Shit man, it's like a screaming noise that won't go away when your fighting it. But then when you're going along for the ride it's like your mom singing you to sleep when you're a kid. Its messed up is what it is.

When Alex was human for a time, the second I saw him I wanted to kill him. But at the same time, I didn't. I knew that he was my brother… he was but he was weak. And the Alpha can never be weak. Even now as I'm writing this stupid report I get pissed off at the idea of a weak Alpha. Alex isn't… fuck anyone that says so. But he was… for a time. And in the time my mind just kept on scratching at me until I was foaming at the mouth mad to kill him. That's what the instincts of an Evolved are… they turn brother against brother if it means that the Hive will become stronger for it.

* * *

File 001.45 – Bio-blade Sharpness

Author, Lead Blacklight Scientist, Doctor Haga Atshushi

Blacklight Evolved and other Viral beings all have some sort of close range bladed form of attack. This can be as simple as an Infected Walker's taloned hands and teeth. But the most advanced form of this mutation within Blacklight is the Evolved Blade Arm, and behind that is the Bio-claws. Both of which are able to cut through almost all forms of heavy metal, with the exception of the hyperdense metal Adamantium. The blades of Evolved natural grow to a razor edge, barely a few molecules in width. Combined with the superhuman levels of force that an Evolved can give each swing of attack, it is easy to understand just how this is possible. How Evolved are able to form such impressive blades completely naturally is only another means to show just how great Blacklight's ability is to produce such things in nature.


	3. File 002 - Infected

Blacklight Proper – File 002 – Current Gen Infected

Subject – The stabilized form of Infected of Blacklight

Overview Summery – Infected of the Blacklight Hive Minds are Humans that have been given or been exposed to Blacklight but the Strain of which was stable. Infected of this class are able to live with the virus though they are now tethered to the Hive Mind. Most common Strain is the refitted Pinklight hybrid Strain of the Blacklight Virus, termed as the Serf Strain. It is this Strain of Blacklight that will be discussed in this file, for files on the various other Stable Strains visit the Strain Archive, tab Stable.

Strain's Physical Form in the Body – The Serf Strain upon introduction in the body begins to siphon off cells in the body to grow a Blacklight Tendril. This Tendril latches onto the human's spine and then begins to grow around the rest of the skeletal structure. Around a week after initial Infection, the Tendril will begin to weave itself into the muscle tissue and then at two weeks into the cellular structure of the vital organs. Then a month into the Infection, the strain will begin to work into the base of the brain and continue from there.

Symptoms – Black Blood, Lower Cognitive Independence, Inability to Defy Evolved.

The most notable effect physical of the Serf Strain is the coloration of the blood. Once a human has been Infected with the Serf Strain, and the strain as fully grown through the body, the blood of the Infected will turn black. This occurs both in and out of the body. It is to be noted that this coloration does not cause the level of Oxygen within the blood to lower, instead the cause of the color appears to be a coating of viral tissue around the blood cells. The purpose of this is unknown, but no harmful effect have been seen to be caused by the change.

Once the Serf Strain has fully entrenched itself in the body, it quickly begins to work its way into the brain. Upon completing its Infection of the human brain, the Infected is fully connected to the Hive Mind. Once this happens, a marked change in personality in Infected occurs. It has been seen that in Hives without Nerve Severs [See File 005 Under Constructs] that the mental collective power of the Hive is solely based on the Number of Infected. This causes what has been described as dulling effect on the normal personality of the Infected. Infected themselves seem to not notice this change and continue on as if nothing has changed. This effect can be avoided to a degree though not entirely by the construction of Nerve Servers connected to the affected Hive.

It is clear to understand that once a Human becomes an Infected and is tethered to the collective Hive Mind of Blacklight, their own free will is lessened. On a day to day, there is little difference. Only once an Evolved makes an order does the question of an Infected's free will come about. The answer, the Infected has very little when compared to the power an Evolved has over them. Infected are programmed to see all orders given by Evolved as right, Infected will simply just see these as the correct thing to do. How their minds do this varies, some see from a moral standpoint. Seeing the Evolved in question as the true moral compass, employing mental backflips in order to see what they are doing as right. Others will simply trust in that what they are doing as what is best for the overall Hive. But in the end, the power is absolute.

* * *

Attached Files

File – 002.7 – Slave Strain

Author, Lead Blacklight Scientist, Doctor Haga Atshushi

So after a lot of begging, I was able to get the green light on experimenting with the theorized Slave State of the Serf Strain of Infected class stable strains. It's basically what happens when a Serf Class Infected is removed from a Hive or the same result can be done on purpose if a group of Infected are localized and forced into having the Blacklight in their bodies develop beyond what is safe. This means making the Blacklight in their body, encroach further into their bodies and brain until they are nothing but husks of humans. I took about fifteen humans, former rapists and child molesters, people that no one will miss, and had an Evolved force them into this Slave State. What happened was what we theorized and a bit more. At that point, all they really were good more is the most basic of manual labor. Building shit, maybe performing a highly repetitive task. That's all they were be good for. Their minds totally shot of any form of self, they could feed themselves and could be trained to shit in the corner… but not much else. Their bodies also showed the signs of their transformation. Their veins were now thick and very much a visible black color. Their eyes also suck a bit back into their skulls and their teeth had begun to fuse together. We killed the poor fuckers at that point but I can guess that such mutation would have continued.


	4. File 003 - Hive Mind

Blacklight Proper – File 003 – The Hive Mind

Subject – The Mental and Psychic Connection that all Blacklight beings share.

Overview Summery – The Blacklight Virus is far more complex than human are. From down to its cells to what it can do. But this is proven more than anything else when you look into the Hive Mind. This is not a system based on pheromones like some other hive minds based in nature, this is a real connection between minds. Not to the degree of shared thought but more so to shared emotion and instinct. A collective with the only goal of survival and whatever the Alpha of the Hive deems worthy.

Structure within the Hive Mind – By the accounts of members of the Hive Mind and the few that upon this report is made have entered into it, the Hive Mind is a collection of sphere-like spaces within the [Redacted By Order of the Alalpha]. Each sphere is representing each mind within the Hive, each holds a size and position based on their role and influence. The largest being an Alpha and all others orbiting their sphere. The closest to the Alpha is the Betas and those Claimed by the Alpha. Claimed orbit those that have claimed them, this is always seen with no exceptions. The only beings able to freely move around between the various Hives are the Nobles, they are able to detach themselves from one and then freely move to another. Though with risks.

* * *

Attached Files

File – 003.6 – Entering the Hive Mind

Author, Alalpha of the Hive Mind, Alex Mercer

For years I was trapped in a coma. My mind inside the Hive Mind and I had nothing to do. It was the most boring and mind-destroying experience I have lived through. I didn't even have a Wilson to talk to. But then later we discovered that a person could shape their inner world… funny name that Atshushi insisted on… to what they wanted. All by entering the Hive Mind and actively controlling it from the outside, Evolved are now able to make their own playpens in their minds… I like the outside world.


End file.
